Last year’s inaugural Wine Lust was a novel event. A wine festival that was held in multiple, intimate settings rather than under one tent was something that we appreciated.
Guess what? It’s back.
It’s back
This year’s edition will be held from 10 August to 10 September 2018, and will be bigger and better than last year’s.
The biggest change of course, is that there will be 15 locations offering 40 wine events and 500 wine varietals. The variety is quite astounding, and there should be something for everyone.
An unexpected journey
For starters, the journeys have returned for a second round, some of which are particularly interesting. The Barolo Dinner ($120++) at the Summerhouse features not only the iconic (and famously pricey) Barolo, but other surprisingly vibrant Italian varietals from the Piedmont region, all to a four-course dinner.
The Barolo itself, from the Cordero di Montezemolo winery, has the characteristic “tar and roses” flavours, but has a kind of youthful perkiness that one does not usually find in the famously heavy wine style.
Other interesting journeys include the Riedel Masterclass with Cellarmaster ($204++). Instead of focusing on wine proper, it focuses on the glassware. For those who might not be aware, Riedel is the most famous wineglass-maker in the world, and their expertly shaped glasses command a princely sum. The question is why- and the masterclass will cover that, and include a set of Riedel glasses to take home.
For those who love their Italian wines, then the Le Donne Del Vino ($110++) might be up your alley. Celebrating three of Italy’s female winemakers, Chef Sue Asokan will serve up a six-course dinner and include the winemakers’ own recipes to pair with their wines. The Jazz Brunches at Monti($88++) will also be running, with a free flow of Proseccos to pair with chef Felix Chong’s a la carte buffet.
Easy like Sunday morning
If the journeys sound a little too stuffy for your liking, there is a slew of casual events that we think are worth exploring. The Wine Lust Brunch Affair ($55++) at Botanico includes a tasting of 96 unique wines from around the world- including some that you’re very unlikely to have had the opportunity to try until now.
We spotted a Hungarian Furmint wine that is decidedly uncommon, considering that the Hungarians hardly export any of it to Asia. Furmint is the base for many of the rich, sweet Tokaj Aszu wines, which are among the world’s best sweet wines. When used to make a still, dry wine, it can have some interesting notes- aromas of pears, smoke and honey included.
If you enjoy something a little more traditional, you can try the Domaine Faively Burgundy wines. While pinots from Burgundy are famously expensive, these bottles are good value for money. You can of course, still get brunch, and pick up a bottle to drink there or bring home.
The Sakes at the Top at 1-Altitude are also quite a departure from the norm- considering there isn’t any wine featured. Some really excellent sakes will be on offer. The Suisei Junmai Ginjyo has some particularly enticing fruit notes- soft yet structured. Of course, the big draw (other than the booze) is the spectacular view of the city, so you can sip sake to the splendid sunset.
Some other fun stuff
If you want to have a bit of fun, you can participate in the “Where is Jean Leon?” event, inspired by the eponymous Jean Leon, who immigrated to the US from Spain, made it big in Hollywood, and then returned to Spain to start his own winery. The fun of course, is that if you bring your Wine and Tapas Passport to participating bars, you can enjoy two glasses of Jean Leon and one tapas for $40++. If you visit 5 bars on the passport, you get two complimentary tickets to the 1-Altitude Race Day party (worth $200). Sounds fun to us- though we were not big fans of the wine, to be perfectly frank. They’re drinkable but not knockouts.
If you’re looking for something less structured, you’ll be pleased to find out that there’s plenty for you too (and we often fall into this category ourselves). For starters, you can bring your own wine to participating Wine Lust venues, with corkage waived.
The catch, of course is that you have to buy the said wine from the Wines of the Month list of one of the following retailers: 1855 The Bottle Shop, Culina Dempsey, Crystal Wines, Moomba, La Rouge, Artisan Cellars, Cellar Master, Ewineasia, Winefamily and Wine Clique. That’s pretty good, considering that you can enjoy online prices while drinking at a restaurant!
That’s not all
Well, that’s just the tip of the iceberg for the event. There’s plenty of stuff that we didn’t cover, and if you enjoy wine at all, we recommend that you check out the website for more information.
Fair warning: you might just find yourself lusting after wine after that.
